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**Rollie** · 08-20-2018, 08:24 PM

I spent the last three days making an extended baggage compartment. There are a couple things that I always have in the plane and I don't like them taking up space in the baggage area. They are a tool kit with my idea of what I may need along the way and tie downs. The Claw tie down kit is kind of big and bulky and heavy (9 pounds) and my tool bag (including a full quart of oil and window cleaning stuff) comes in at 10 pounds. Once I was finished I loaded some weights into my new extension and looked for any deformation or sagging. My removable belly panels came in very handy for making this mod and allowed me to see what was going on during the load test. I put 80 lb in there and nothing moved then I emptied it out and pushed up on the top of the compartment to check for negative load. That part wasn't quite as scientific as I didn't have a scale that would fit and allow me to exert 40 lbs of pressure like I wanted to, but it was probably close enough. I'm setting the max weight for the extension at 20 lbs and now it is tested for +4 / -1 G, possibly -2 G. I don't plan to pull or push that hard but now if I hit some turbulence or something I don't have to worry about whats happening back there. Then I came home and adjusted my empty W&B and added a line to my W&B worksheet. The compartment is 29" long so I set the arm at the center, at 105", if I remember correctly. I can still fly with my wife, full gas and enough baggage to hit my max weight of 2100 lb and not quite hit the aft cg limit.

**Skothe** · 08-21-2018, 12:02 AM

**rv8bldr** · 09-04-2018, 01:49 PM

I had to leave my unprimed/unpainted 4pl fuselage in my garage for the winter last year. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of surface rust (nothing serious). I have been dreading the whole sandblasting thing, but bought a sandblaster pressure pot to use with my large compressor. Well, after spending hours and hours of trying to get this to work, I finally gave up as my large compressor is apparently not large enough :-)

I found a local mobile sandblaster company and they came to my house and did the whole fuselage, control system bits (control stick parts, etc), engine mount, and empennage in 4 hours! It cost me $700 CAN including media, so I call that a deal.

The next day, I broke out my HVLP turbine and managed to get all of the fuselage steel fully primed/sealed with a two part epoxy, painted the cockpit interior and control system parts white, and painted the engine mount Chrysler Gecko Green. I am sooooooo glad that is over with and I can rest easy this winter not thinking about rust and work on the OTHER wing panel (i have the left wing mostly skinned). When that is done, I'll be a the quick build stage (I shoulda bought a kit)....

**rv8bldr** · 09-06-2018, 08:27 AM

Here is how the green will be used in the paint scheme and how it is already used on the engine. The other colour on the engine is a deep navy blue

**rv8bldr** · 11-12-2018, 09:11 AM

While not strictly Bearhawk project related, I have built a cheap, mobile, and, it turns out, highly effective engine preheater for my Maule that will be perfect for my Bearhawk when it is done. I bought a small ceramic heater from Amazon ($39 CDN), some home ducting bits and casters from the Aviation department at Home Dumpo, and used some scrap wood from the hangar project. The unit is super light and I just wheel it underneath the fuselage pointing the outlet into the exhaust ramp. At 0C/32F, it had the WHOLE engine at room temperature in a couple of hours. My RV-8 had a sump heater, but that really just got the oil warmed up, and the cylinders were still quite cold. I like the idea of everything under the cowl being warm.

**Chris In Milwaukee** · 11-12-2018, 11:13 AM

Crafty! I have cylinder bands on mine in addition to the sump. But the C-140 I flew before this did not, and I had a similar setup. Works like a champ!

**Bcone1381** · 11-12-2018, 01:28 PM

Mark;
Can you turn it on from home before you drive to the airport?

goo.gl/YsQMwy

**rv8bldr** · 11-12-2018, 03:33 PM

Hi Brooks,

Well, the airport IS at home :-) I have a hangar and grass strip. It's a 150' walk from my front door to the hangar. However, I do have a Switchbox (http://switchboxcontrol.com/the-switch-box/) lying around that I used to use for my RV-8 when I kept it at the airport. Those WiFi based ones you pointed to would certainly do the trick if you can get to them remotely. The heater I used in my new setup is a Lasko-CD09250 I got from Amazon and it doesn't draw a lot of current.

Cheers

**Chewie** · 11-12-2018, 05:52 PM

Originally posted by Bcone1381 View Post

Mark;
Can you turn it on from home before you drive to the airport?

goo.gl/YsQMwy

First world problem!

**Bdflies** · 11-12-2018, 11:12 PM

Fellas, Iâ€™ll have to beg forgiveness. In Louisiana, Iâ€™ve never actually seen an engine heater. How cold do yâ€™all begin to use heat?

Bill

**rv8bldr** · 11-13-2018, 08:33 AM

Bill, I only have one thing to say to that: Grrrrr.... :-)

Personally, I use heat anytime the ambient temperature is below about 10C/50F to minimize stresses and allow oil to get circulating to the important parts as quickly as possible. I don't normally fly at all when the temperatures get below -10C/15F because I'm a wimp. It regularly gets to -25C/-15F here winter for a few weeks at a time.

**Mark Moyle** · 11-16-2018, 04:03 PM

Before installing a Tanis system I used a Red Dragon heater..or a small electric heater under the cowl behind the engine baffles...and only when temperatures are below freezing. My cold weather cut off is -25F... even then I have to use carb heat until the throttle is firewalled on take off...then push the carb heat in slowly..

**Mark Moyle** · 11-16-2018, 11:32 PM

Originally posted by Bcone1381 View Post

Mark;
Can you turn it on from home before you drive to the airport?

goo.gl/YsQMwy

Like 75â€™ to the hanger from my bed...another 100â€™ to the taxi way.. the heating system is for when Iâ€™m tied down someplace not like home...

**PaulSA** · 12-10-2018, 11:22 AM

Completed the initial fuselage build with all sheet metal work, controls and piping in. About 330 hours so far. Now starting on the wings......

**PaulSA** · 12-13-2018, 10:34 AM

What did I do on my Bearhawk Project today? I'll tell you what I did today - made a right cock of the flap brackets, that's what I did!!

Deep breath........

Fortunately, although being dumb, I was smart enough to start off with undersize mount holes and clecos which gave me a 1/16" here and there wriggle room. Finally got it sorted. Now I've worked out what I am doing, the right wing is going a lot better.....

I am learning that "Quick Build" it may be but VANS CNC match-drilled kit it ain't .........

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